If Hazel and Augustus Never Met… All Rights to John Green
by threeflyingbirds
Summary: This story goes into how the lives of Hazel and Augustus would be if they never met.
1. Chapter 1

Hazel:

Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided that I was depressed. Mostly because I devoted most of my time to watching reality shows, sleeping, and re-reading the same book over and over again. So she made me go to this hideous cancer support group inside of an episcopal church in "The Literal Heart of Jesus", where Patrick, hosted this cancer support group and talked about his cancer experience, and how that led to him having to lose his nuts. He did this every. Single. Time. I'm not going to explain all of the gruesome details about his ball-lessness, so let me tell you a little bit about my cancer experience: I was thirteen when the doctors discovered cancer in my thyroid glands, which spread to my lungs. They thought I wasn't going to last for much longer, until they decided to put me on Phalanxifor. It's one of those medications that are famous for not working in the republic of cancervania. But it worked on me. It helps shrink the tumors, but it will still be terminal.

I'm not particularly friends with anyone in support group, except for a kid named Issac. He's my age, and has cancer in eyes. He had one taken out when he was younger, and has a glass eye in its place, and his glasses have a ridiculously large magnification which only makes it look worse. He's getting his other eye taken out so he will be blind. We communicate with each other using sighs. When someone talks about certain diets to get rid of cancer or snorting up ground shark fin or whatever he looks at me, and sighs. I sigh back. He has a girlfriend at least. Her name is Monica. I will never have a boyfriend considering my pageboy haircut and my puffy round face. Don't forget my oxygen tank and cannula that I have to drag around and wear every single day since my lungs sucked at being lungs. But I have to live with it, however long I live. I sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself but in truth what I live with is just a side effect of dying.


	2. Chapter 2

Augustus:

My friend Issac has just invited me to some cancer support group that he goes to regularily. I couldn't go because my mom got invited to a barbeque, and invited my dad and me to go. I would have much rather gone to the support group thing with Issac, then talk to people I barely know all night. The reason Issac invited me was because I had osteosarcoma in my right leg. I've been NEC for eighteen months now though. But the cost of that was too lose my right leg, and go through treatment for a year and I had an 85% chance that I would live, but there was still the odds that the treatment would fail. But I was lucky enough to live on, unlike my old girlfriend Caroline Mathers who had died from a horrible brain cancer. I fear oblivion. I fear oblivion for anyone. I decided to bring that up considering we are talking about death. I want to be remembered for something. I want to be able to have something that was worth living for. I don't want to be remembered as "That kid who was really good at basketball", because I HATE basketball. I used to be the best on my team until I got my leg amputated. I remember the day before my surgery that I was in the gym, and I essentially fraught free-throws, and I got eighty in a row. I thought about it for a while. I studied the way the basketball entered the hoop, and came out of it. There was really no point to it. It was like putting coloured blocks with different shapes into fitting holes, except only a slightly more aerobic version than that. I want to be remembered for something much greater than basketball. It's almost like I want to do something to change the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Hazel:

"Hazel, wake up! Support Group time!" My mother said sweetly to wake me up from my nap. That's another thing with being a cancer patient. You become a professional sleeper.

"UGGGGGGGGGH! I don't wanna go to Support Group," I said groggily.

"Hazel, it's for the best. You are depressed, and I believe this support group will help you," My mom told me.

"I am not depressed!" I told my mother for the billionth time. But the reason I went was the reason I did anything these days; for my parents. I put on my old blue jeans and a green tee shirt advertising a band I didn't even like anymore. I grabbed my oxygen tank and got into my mom's car.

I stared out the window, another gray day in Indianapolis. We arrived at the Episcopal Church and I got out of the car. I looked back at my mom and smiled. She rolled down the window and said:

"Hey, Make some friends!" and then drove away. I walked through the doors, and walked up the stairs. There was an elevator, but that was kind of for the kids who only had a number of days left to live. The Support Group had some chairs arranged in a circle and a table with an assortment of cookies and lemonade. I took my seat a couple away from Issac. No one new today at Support Group.

Patrick started this Cancer Support Group just as he usually does: By talking about his cancer in his balls. He talks to us about his life before and after his cancer like he wants us to be just like him. But in reality, he is still living in his parent's basement and is still single.

"Anyone want to share their thoughts?" he asked the group. I looked around and everyone was avoiding eye contact with Patrick. "Hazel, why don't you share?" he asked me.

"I'm Hazel. Thyroid originally, but now with an impressive satellite colony in my lungs."

"And how are you doing?" Patrick asked me. Besides the terminal cancer? I thought to myself.

"Okay, I guess." I replied. He nodded.

I checked my phone. Support Group was almost over. Patrick had us do this stupid mantra: LIVING OUR BEST LIFE TODAY. And said the long list of names of people from the support group that have passed away. I imagined my name being on there, at the bottom of the page when everybody stopped listening. I walked out the Church doors and saw Issac, making out with his girlfriend Monica while they repeated the word "Always" to each other. It was like a promise. They'll "always" love each other or something like that. My mom was at the curb waiting for me. She smiled. I got into the car.

"Are you ready for "America's Next Top Model" time?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said.

And I watched the church get smaller the farther we drove away.


	4. Chapter 4

Augustus:

I put on my blue button-up shirt and some jeans. I grabbed my jacket and jumped in my car.

"Why don't you come with us, Gus?" My dad asked me.

"I'll practice my driving," I said. I was a TERRIBLE driver. I failed my driving test three times! The fourth time the lady said: "Your driving is unpleasant, but it is not technically unsafe." So I got my license. It was a total cancer perk. Cancer perks are when people give you stuff, simply because you have cancer. I don't know how many basketballs famous basketball players signed for me.

"Be safe," my mother said firmly.

"I'll meet you at the barbeque," I told them. I wasn't going to the barbeque. I was going to Issac's.

I got a text. It was from Issac. It read:

Come ASAP

I texted back:

You come here.

He was there with ten minutes.

"Issac? Are you okay?" I asked him. he was crying.

"N-noooo!" he cried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, M-Monica dumped me," The words came out of his mouth muffled.

"What happened? Let's go inside," I told him.

We went downstairs. I set up Counterinsurgence on my X-Box, and we started to play.

"After the Sup-Support Group, we were kissing, and then all of a sudden she told me that she couldn't handle it!" He said angrily.

"Couldn't handle what?"

"The fact that I was going to be blind! I was losing my eyesight, and SHE couldn't handle it!"

"God Issac, I'm sorry. You heard from her yet?"

"Not even a text," Then he burst into hysterics again. "God damn! I hate my life!" He screamed.

"You need to let your anger out," I said with a half smile. He started to kick my television set. "Not that!" I handed him a pillow. He screamed into it. "No, you need to break something. I looked at my wall covered in basketball trophies. I handed him one. "I've been trying to find a way to tell my parents that I kind of hate basketball. He smashed it on the wall and screamed and cried.

"Aren't you supposed to be at that barbeque?" he asked me.

"Yeah, but since I was helping you my parents should understand," I hoped they would at least.

Issac grabbed a few different trophies, and shattered them.

A couple hours later, most of the trophies were broken, but we were peacefully playing Counterinsurgence while silent tears streamed down his cheeks. My parents called me an hour ago, and said they were worried sick. I told them what happened. They didn't seem too angry, but I assumed I would get my car keys taken away from me. I heard my parents come through the door.

"Issac, you should go," I told him. He got up and hugged me.

"Thanks," He sobbed.

We walked up the stairs. The trophies are scattered on they floor into many broken pieces.


	5. Chapter 5

Hazel:

"HAZEL! WAKE UP!" my mom shouted happily.

"What?" I asked her in a croaky voice.

"IT'S YOUR 33rd HALF BIRTHDAY!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You should go to a movie or hang out at the mall with Matt or Kaitlyn," Matt and Kaitlyn were my friends.

"I'll call Kaitlyn," I told her. She smiled and left the room. I got dressed, and had scrambled eggs for breakfast.

I called Kaitlyn, and she suggested we meet at the mall. It wasn't for another couple hours, so I decided to read my favourite book, _An Imperial Affliction. _It's about a girl named Anna who has cancer. It's my favourite book because the authpr Peter Van Houten, really understands what it's like to be dying, but hasn't actually died. It's an amazing book, except for the fact that the book ends in the middle of a

I know it's crazy, but I understand why it does. It's either because Anna gets too sick to write or she dies. I keep on writing letters to him, but he never writes back.

I checked the time on my phone, and it was time to meet Kaitlyn at the mall.

"Mom? Can you drive me to the mall?"

"Meet you out in the car!" My mom replied.

She dropped me off at the food court, and I took out _AIA. (An Imperial Affliction.) _I looked up and saw Kaitlyn walking towards me.

"Darling! How have you been?" She asked me with a vague British accent. Kaitlyn didn't sound like she was a sixteen year old girl. She sounded much like a twenty-five year old british socialite.

"I'm fine," I replied blandly.

"Give me more details! Meet any boys?" She asked with a half smile.

"No," I said. I wasn't lying. "What about you?"

"A boy named Derek Wellington. We've gone out a few times. Shall we shop?" She said.

We went to a shoe store, because Kaitlyn wanted some new shoes. She is really insecure about her second to being too long, so she doesn't want to wear shoes that will show off her toes.

"How about these?" I asked her. They were open toed ballet flats.

"Those are cute, but they will show off my hideous long toe," she said. I laughed. She put on a pair of super-high heels. "I don't know how anyone could walk in these! I would just _die_-" she cut herself off. She looked at me, and I was wearing my oxygen tank and cannula. She looked at me in a way to say: _I'm sorry…_

"I should go, I have classes today," I said. I went to college to take classes instead of going to public school. I didn't actually have classes, I just didn't want to shop anymore.

"Okay darling, we should definitely do this again sometime," I got up and waved goodbye. I walked into a corner of the mall that even Kaitlyn wouldn't want to go, and I read my book. A little girl came up to me and said:

"What are those for?" her mother shook her head.

"I am so sorry," she said.

"No it's fine," I told her. "Do you want to try them on?" I asked the little girl. She nodded her head. I looped them off my ears and onto hers. She started to giggle.

"These tickle!" She said.

"Come on, time to go," The mom said to her daughter. I took the cannula off of her, and waved goodbye.

I texted my mom to come pick me up. I just wanted to drown in the words in my book forever.


End file.
